Google is going to reanimate its flagging Google Glass project by hiring three consumer electronics experts from Amazon’s secretive Lab 126.The project dubbed Project Aura, is aimed at improving the current technology of the Google Glass and advancing the development of wearable technology.
Reports says that Project Aura appears to have gotten started in June and it will remain within Google rather than being a standalone company under the new Alphabet holding company or being folded into the the Nest smart appliances business.Nest CEO Tony Fadell will be able to have a high-level of supervision over the project but is unclear of what would happen within the project if Nest Labs become a company under Alphabet.
Google is on a roll to hire new innovative minds for its project and it has its own project recruiter which is dedicated to finding the right people for the project. Job positions were seen being posted in LinkedIn and other various job-seeking portals.Several LinkedIn profiles and job listings describing the Project Aura “Google Glass and Beyond.” One described it as “building cool wearables.”
By remaining withing Google, the Aura group will be able to collaborate more closely with other advanced technology efforts such as Soli, which allows consumers to control gadgets through gestures such as rubbing fingers together. While virtual reality technology is an growing area of focus within the technology industry, particularly as Facebook preps the release of its Oculus VR headset, the source said it is still too soon to know whether the Aura group will focused specifically on VR.
Google stopped selling the initial $1,500 version of Glass to consumers earlier this year following waning interest and criticism that the device was too expensive and clunky, without enough practical use cases. The head-mounted device, which allowed users to record video, also raised privacy concerns and caused a consumer backlash. Google continues to sell Glass to businesses for use in the workplace and is reportedly working on a new enterprise version of the device.
